MetLife Legal Plans
With a group legal plan, you can have easy access to the expert legal help you need – from estate planning to real estate to traffic issues.
Legal Guidance for Life's Big Moments
Purchasing a new home? Starting a family? Dealing with an unexpected accident? Whether you are just starting out, married with kids or getting ready to retire, a legal plan may save you money on common legal issues.
MetLife Legal Plans gives you access to expert legal help so you can navigate life's big moments confidently. A legal plan can assist when you are:
- Buying, renting, or selling a home and need to have contracts, deeds, and purchase agreements reviewed or have an attorney attend a closing.
- Starting a family and need to create wills and estate planning documents, or handle school and administrative hearings, adoption, or reproductive assistance legal matters.
- Handling an unexpected issue like a traffic ticket, repossession, debt collection matter, or tax audit.
What Exactly Does MetLife Legal Plans Offer?
MetLife Legal Plans offers easy access to the legal help you need for the common legal issues many people face. The legal plan is built around your needs and offers you:
- An Experienced Attorney Network: You have access to the largest attorney network available, as well as the option to use an attorney outside of our network and be reimbursed for part of the costs.
- Access to Digital Tools: We provide a simple, guided process for employees to complete wills, living wills, durable power of attorney documents, and living trusts, all online in as a little as 15 minutes.
- Comprehensive Coverage: With over 100 legal matters covered under our plan, you can see attorneys as many times as you need to throughout the year.
- Cost-effective legal help – The cost of MetLife Legal Plans coverage for the whole year is around $200, that’s less than an attorney’s average hourly rate of $370 1.
How It Works
With a legal plan, there are no bills or claim forms to worry about when using a Network Attorney for a covered matter. For a cost effective monthly rate, you simply find an attorney, make an appointment, and let MetLife Legal Plans handle the rest.
This service is tailored to your needs, so our network of attorneys is available in person, by phone, by email, and online so you can easily connect with an attorney or plan your next move. MetLife Legal Plans makes it easy to get the legal help you can use by offering:
- Easy Connection to Attorneys: We can help you find an attorney near you or you can go online and find an attorney yourself. Once you've chosen an attorney, you will receive a case number so that you can contact the attorney to discuss your legal matter further.
- Unlimited Access: You will get full access to services without waiting periods, deductibles, copays, or claims forms. 2
- Flexible Service: Some legal matters can be handled online or through email, and in certain cases, the attorney may be able to represent you in court without requiring you to make an appearance.
Did You Know?
62% of working adults have been involved in a legal issue within the last three years.3
Empower for the Future
Help cover the costs on a range of legal issues with a Legal Plan and get access to experienced attorneys to help with estate planning and more.
See how much MetLife Legal Plans can save you.
Need Help?
If you're already enrolled, simply register or login to see your coverages and find an attorney
Legal FAQs
What is a legal plan and why should I enroll in one?
Enrolling in a legal plan is like having a lawyer on retainer on your side. When you use a Network Attorney for covered services, all attorney fees are covered by the legal plan. Payments for the plan are made through convenient payroll deductions.
For about $20 a month, our legal employee benefits program offers value, convenience and confidence by giving you easy and low-cost access to attorneys for a wide variety of personal legal services including advice and consultations on an unlimited number of personal legal matters.
Legal issues arise when you get married, have a baby, buy a home, lose a loved one, or need to have legal documents drafted. For example, with lawyers typically charging $370 an hour for services, the value of a prepaid legal plan is easy to see.*
What is covered by my legal plan?
A legal plan provides fully covered services for many of the most frequently needed personal legal matters, in addition to advice and consultations on an unlimited number of personal legal issues.
If you are a legal plan member, you can quickly access the member site to view coverage for the legal plan offered by your employer, or call our Client Service Center at 800-821-6400 (8 am - 8 pm EST, Mon - Fri).
If you are thinking about enrolling in the legal plan offered by your employer, visit our information center. Your HR or benefits department can provide you with an access code to log in.
You can also visit the Covered Services section to view examples of covered legal matters.
What does “fully covered” mean?
“Fully covered” means that all attorney services related to the covered matter are paid for by the legal plan when you use a Network Attorney. There are no co-pays, deductibles or claim forms when you use a Network Attorney. Also, you are entitled to advice and consultations for matters not fully covered by the plan, so long as they are not excluded. (See terms of service for a list of excluded matters.)
Are pre-existing matters covered?
Yes, MetLife Legal Plans encourages members to use the plan to resolve as many legal issues as possible, even if they are pre-existing matters. The only pre-existing matters that are not covered are those for which you retained an attorney before becoming eligible for plan benefits.
How much legal assistance am I entitled to?
MetLife Legal Plans is the only provider to cover office consultations and telephone advice for an unlimited number of covered and non-covered personal legal matters, so long as they are not excluded. These services are offered by local Network Attorneys.
What matters are excluded?
MetLife Legal Plans offers a range of plan options, including customized legal plans for employers with more than 3,000 benefit-eligible employees. The legal plan provides a consultation benefit for most personal legal matters. What’s more, many personal legal matters are fully covered. For a list of fully covered services in your organization’s legal plan, please log in or call the Client Service Center at 800-821-6400. The following matters are excluded from all plans:
- Employment-related matters, including company or statutory benefits
- Matters involving the employer, Network Attorneys, MetLife and affiliates
- Matters in which there is a conflict of interest between the employee and spouse or dependents, in which case services are excluded for the spouse and dependents
- Appeals and class actions
- Farm and business matters, including rental issues when the plan member is the landlord
- Patent, trademark and copyright matters
- Costs and fines
- Frivolous or unethical matters
- Matters for which an attorney-client relationship exists prior to the participant becoming eligible for plan benefits
NEXT STEPS
Contact your employer for more information.
1 Average monthly rate for the MetLife legal plan. Average hourly rate of $370.00 based on years of legal experience, National Law Journal and ALM Legal Intelligence, Survey of Law Firm Economics (2018).
2 When using a network attorney for a covered matter
3 CARAVAN survey conducted by ENGINE on behalf of MetLife Legal Plans, January 2020
Group legal plans provided by MetLife Legal Plans, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. In certain states, group legal plans are provided through insurance coverage underwritten by Metropolitan General Insurance Company and Affiliates, Warwick, RI. Some services not available in all states. No service, including consultations, will be provided for: 1) employment-related matters, including company or statutory benefits; 2) matters involving the employer, MetLife and affiliates and plan attorneys; 3) matters in which there is a conflict of interest between the employee and spouse or dependents in which case services are excluded for the spouse and dependents; 4) appeals and class actions; 5) farm and business matters, including rental issues when the participant is the landlord; 6) patent, trademark and copyright matters; 7) costs and fines; 8) frivolous or unethical matters; 9) matters for which an attorney client relationship exists prior to the participant becoming eligible for plan benefits. For all other personal legal matters, an advice and consultation benefit is provided. Additional representation is also included for certain matters. Please see your plan description for details. MetLife® is a registered trademarks of MetLife Services and Solutions, LLC, New York, NY.